Blue Jays: Drew Hutchison is a Luxury Toronto Need to Keep

Although Drew Hutchison is the odd man out of the Toronto Blue Jays rotation, he is a valuable asset that the team cannot afford to part ways with.

Drew Hutchison has done everything the Toronto Blue Jays have asked of him this season following his demotion to triple-A Buffalo during spring training.

But despite meeting all the requirements, Hutchison is unofficially listed as the Blue Jays sixth starter, and unless one of the Jays’ five starters sustains an injury, he seems to be firmly entrenched in that role.

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When you look at the big picture, however, that role is a lot more important than it sounds. When you factor in injuries, spot starts, etc., most teams use anywhere from 7-9 different starting pitchers over the course of a 162 game season. So far this season the Blue Jays have only used six starting pitchers, with the lone spot start coming from Hutchison in late-April.

Over the course of this season, though, the Blue Jays starters have combined to throw an MLB best 349.1 innings, and if that rate sustains, all five of the team’s starters will near the 180 innings mark by seasons end. With young pitchers like Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez having their innings monitored, the need for an additional spot starter, like Hutchison, is critical.

Sure, Hutchison isn’t making a difference at the big league level right now, but the old cliché of baseball being a marathon is a cliché for a reason. Come the dog days of summer, and early fall, you need all the arms you can get.

That’s why the idea of shopping Hutchison, which some fans have suggested, doesn’t make any sense. It’s not a glamorous position, but the unofficial No. 6 starter is an important component of any major league team.

That pitcher is considered a stop-gap of sorts. Someone who can help limit the damage should a starter go down. Someone who can eat up innings or pitch on short notice when a Wednesday double-header is scheduled in July because of a rain out the previous night.

Expecting Gavin Floyd or Jesse Chavez to be that guy is unrealistic. Both were once starters, but now they’ve fully transitioned into their roles as relievers and it would take them weeks to build up the endurance needed to start.

On the contrary, that’s the exact reason why it wouldn’t make sense to put Hutchison in the bullpen either. Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins joined Sportsnet 590 the FAN’s Prime Time Sports on Wednesday and discussed Hutchison. He cited stability as one of the reasons why the team has not decided to use him as a reliever.

“Keeping guys on routines, and all of our options available [is important],” said Atkins. “Once he comes into the pen and let’s hypothetically say he performs well, or hypothetically he needed longer than a seven-day stint. Well now he hasn’t started for potentially 10-15 days and getting him back onto that mix is not the easiest thing to do, and then next thing you know two weeks has passed and you don’t have that sixth starter that is such a nice piece to have.”

Atkins did go on to say that he thinks Hutch would be fine in the bullpen should they ask him to pitch in that role, but there would be some adjustment period.

Host Bob McCown then brought up the point that most relievers are generally failed starters, which is something Atkins agreed on. At 25 years old, and just one year removed from being the Blue Jays Opening Day starter, Hutchison is far from a failed starter.

If you needed further proof, just look at his performance Tuesday night with the Buffalo Bisons where he retired the first 17 batters he faced. That isn’t the kind of showing produced by a failed starter.

So while biding his time in Buffalo may not be the scenario he envisioned himself to be in before the season started, it’s the ideal situation for both the Blue Jays and Hutchison.

With the Blue Jays adamant about monitoring the innings of Stroman and Sanchez this season, and the starters unscathed through two months, even though they lead the league in innings pitched, keeping Hutchison as the team’s unofficial sixth starter is the right call.

Next: Bautista Says he Would be Stupid to Leave Blue Jays

It’s likely frustrating for him to continue to mow down hitters in triple-A, but over the course of a 162 game season, his opportunity with the Blue Jays will come. Until then, sit tight, keep improving that slider, and, of course, be patient.

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